Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, Britishafter sketch by William Page, 1794–1872
Title:
Rhodes
Date:
between 1823 and 1824
Materials & Techniques:
Watercolor, gouache, and scraping out on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 5 1/4 x 8 7/8in. (13.3 x 22.5cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.153
Gallery Label:
Book illustration was another prolific strand of Turner’s practice. During the 1830s, he was especially active creating illustrations for the works of a number of celebrated authors, including Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron. This view of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes was commissioned to illustrate a popular edition of Byron’s Life and Works (1832–34). It typifies the small-scale images the artist produced to meet the needs of this market. As with his earlier Vesuvius, Turner had never visited the scene, instead relying on a sketch by another artist. In spite of this, his powerful imaginative and technical abilities endowed this work with a vividness of coloring and strength of form that are difficult to reconcile with its derivative nature. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)
